Letter: Just when we get back on our feet the rug is pulled

To most of the football world, news of Darren Moore’s sudden departure came as a complete shock. Wednesdayites thought it was a wind up. Only yesterday it seemed we were hailing Moore the Messiah and rejoicing at a miracle, the team that came back from the dead.
By Alan Hurndall
Published 21st Jun 2023, 06:59 BST
Alan Hurndall, author of new book The Crooked Spire Killings.Alan Hurndall, author of new book The Crooked Spire Killings.
Alan Hurndall, author of new book The Crooked Spire Killings.

It was all sweetness, light and tears of joy on our promotion parade. Oh how we all looked forward to the season ahead. Why, with one or two additions we’d be competing with the likes of Leeds and Leicester while painful memories of Fleetwood and Forest Green receded. But last night the wheels suddenly came off the victory bus. And Thursday’s Championship fixture release fills me with dread. Every Wednesdayite deserves an immediate full and frank explanation about what’s gone off. Starting tonight at the pie and pea chairman’s forum where tickets have suddenly become gold dust.

We can all speculate. Did he walk? Was he pushed? Has he another job lined up? Is the club being sold? Is there another financial crisis? Has there been a row over policy and recruitment? Was there no money for new players? None of us know. The chairman and manager posed for smiley selfies in the city at the weekend. Two happy campers planning the campaign ahead. In fact they must have been putting the finishing touches to their termination agreement.

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Wednesday fans have been here before of course. Just when we get back on our feet the rug is pulled. Big Ron and Bruce leap immediately to mind. Last month 50,000 of us made the trek to Wembley. Thousands more watched at home and abroad. The players and the management gave us one of the days of our lives. In social media speak WTF?

Darren Moore left Sheffield Wednesday on Monday in a decision that shocked fans and players alike (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)Darren Moore left Sheffield Wednesday on Monday in a decision that shocked fans and players alike (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Darren Moore left Sheffield Wednesday on Monday in a decision that shocked fans and players alike (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Every fan should reserve a place in their hearts for his Mission Impossible feat and promotion legacy. He was the nicest of guys who fashioned a team, moulded a superb team spirit and improved some players. But no one should get carried away. Ultimately he got us over the line. But there were many bumps and moans and groans along the way.

One can only hope this is all part of a wider cunning plan to prepare the club ready for an assault on the Premiership. But we wouldn’t be Wednesday if we didn’t fear the worst. It’s such pessimism that bonds us and makes us such a wonderful supportive bunch. And this shock only underlines what a football club actually is. Not the chairman. Not the players. Not the manager.

They will come and go. They are all transient. It’s the fans who pay their money week after week and pledge their loyalty and support for a lifetime that are the club. And we want answers quick.

Alan Hurndall, local author and former journalist at The Star

Related topics:Darren MooreLeedsLeicesterFleetwood